Gift From On High
by Anulis
Summary: While using Nirrti's invisibility devices to infiltrate a Goa'ulds palace, Daniel and Jack come upon a startling discovery. They must deal with the Heruurs advantage over the system lords to keep him from ruling the galaxy alone. REVIEW THIS I BEG OF YOU!
1. A Gift from a Goa'uld

Disclaimer: Witness if you will…squat. I don't own anything. Not even the shirt on my back…I stole it from my sister. But especially nothing from Stargate Sg-1 or its affiliates…(or this computer…all I get paid in is reviews so REVIEW THIS FIC!)

_Splash._ The event horizon of the gate could be heard pounding against the titanium iris and red lights were flashing all over level twenty-eight. Colonel Jack O'Neill hopped up the last few steps into the control room where Teal'c, Sam, and Daniel stood waiting with General Hammond.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"An unauthorized off-world activation, and we have yet to receive an IDC." Teal'c answered. "How was your fishing trip O'Neill?"

"Uh, short, thanks for asking. How's Rya'c?" He said in the same falsely interested voice he used for all his small talk.

"He and Bra'tac are well." Teal'c replied, looking back at the gate.

"Sir, we're receiving the Tok'ra IDC." A technician said.

"Open the iris." General Hammond replied. He turned to meet the Tok'ra in the gate room; they hadn't expected their arrival and all of the team were concerned. Daniel rolled back and forth on his heals with his hands in his pockets. He stared up at the gate uneasily, but a smile grew on his face when Jacob came through the shining blue wall of water and made his way down to Sam, embracing her in a fatherly way.

"Hey Sam. God, I've missed you."

"Hey Dad, I missed you too. What's up?" Jacob turned to where the three men (and one jaffa) stood, waiting, and spoke.

"Teal'c, George, Jack, Daniel. You up for a long briefing?"

"Jacob," Jack greeted him. "Sure we're up for it, assuming you were gonna tell us what 'it' is?" Jacob just smiled even more brightly.

"Heru-ur is quickly rising in rank amongst the system lords, and the Tok'ra think we have just what we need to finally have the edge over the Goa'uld. And it's all thanks to Nirrti…"


	2. New Toys

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"Are you serious?" Daniel asked as they sat in the briefing room. The lights were off and Jacob was showing them a picture of a small, rectangular device on the monitor.

"More serious than we've ever been Daniel. After Nirrti disappeared the first time, we raided her old labs and couldn't find much. We think the system lords may have gotten there first. But on the planet where you found Cassie, in _that_ lab, we discovered a hidden panel. That's how we found these." He indicated the two invisibility devices on the table. Jack gave them a look with his head cocked sideways.

"So, what do you need Sg-1 for?" Jacob shook his head.

"Not all of Sg-1, Jack, just you and Daniel."

"Dad?" Sam questioned, looking disappointed. Jacob dropped his head to his chest, and his own voice was replaced by that of his symbiote, Selmak.

"As we said before, Heru-ur has been growing ever more powerful among the system lords since the death of Apophis."

"What about him?" Jack asked impatiently.

"We have been unable to ascertain what new advantage he has in addition to absorbing Apophis' troops and territories. All we know is that in a recent battle with Lord Yu, Heru-ur captured his first prime. Somehow, he was able to defeat Yu with the knowledge he gained from the prisoner."

"So what? He probably just tortured him or-"

"I do not believe so O'Neill." Teal'c interrupted. "The first prime is a Goa'ulds most loyal jaffa. No first prime would willingly give up knowledge that could endanger his master's chances of winning a battle."

"You told Apophis were to shove it." Teal'c opened his mouth to reply, but Sam got there first.

"So Heru-ur must have found out another way to get information out of him." She ventured.

"One of our operatives found out about this new method, but she died before she could tell us more." Selmak replied. "That is why we need your help."

"What kind of help could Sg-1 provide?" General Hammond questioned.

"Only Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson can be of assistance on this mission. We want them to use the invisibility apparatus to infiltrate Heru-ur's ranks and find out what this advantage is, and if possible, keep him from using it any longer."

"Just me and Jack?" Daniel asked, rubbing his temple. "Why only us?" Selmak lifted one of the invisibility devices off the table and put it on his belt. Before activating it, he turned to Teal'c.

"Please stand," Teal'c stood up slowly and moved away from the table. "Attempt to disable me if you can." With this, Selmak turned the device on and instantly disappeared. General Hammond and Sg-1 looked around the room, waiting. Teal'c stepped backwards cautiously, listening hard. Quite suddenly, he grabbed something in the air and a thunk was heard on the table.

"Mind letting me go Teal'c?" Jacob's voice said when he reappeared. Teal'c had him pinned facedown on the table with his arm twisted behind him. He hastened to let go and helped Jacob back to his feet.

"How did you do that?" General Hammond asked, looking perplexed.

"I sensed the symbiote within his body as he drew near." Sam nodded vigorously in understanding.

"That's why only Daniel and the Colonel can go. Anyone with a symbiote, Tok'ra or jaffa could still be sensed even with the invisibility device. Teal'c has Junior and I had Jolinar. If we were to go on the mission, we could be discovered just by walking by a jaffa or a Goa'uld."

"Exactly." Jacob said.

"Ah, right." Jack stood up and put on one of the devices. After pressing the button, he felt a little queasy. "Can you see me?" he asked pointlessly. The others in the room were staring around wildly. Jack laughed aloud and walked up behind Daniel, poking him in the back of the head.

"Ow, Hey!" he objected. Jacob laughed and tossed Daniel the second device. He put it on and pressed the button. He could tell no one could see him just by the fact that they were looking right through him. He turned around and was startled somewhat.

"Jack? Hey I can see you!" he said.

"They can see each other when the devices are both on?" General Hammond asked, looking in the direction of Daniel's voice.

"Yes, we believe it has something to do with how the device fragments the visible light scale of the wearer." The General nodded, barely understanding.

"Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, could you come back to this 'visible light scale' for a moment, its kind of unnerving talking to someone I can't see."

"Sorry sir." They replied simultaneously, coming back into view.

"Wow that makes you nauseous." Jack said, rubbing his stomach. They all returned to their seats and looked to Jacob.

"Where exactly do you want us to go?" Daniel asked, still playing with the device.

"Heru-ur's home world. The operative we lost told us he was keeping something hidden there, the thing that's giving him this advantage." The Colonel looked at him skeptically.

"How are we getting in and out?" he asked.

"And how long do the Tok'ra intend them to stay on such a hostile world?" General Hammond added.

"You can't go through the gate, you can still be seen exiting a wormhole, so we're going to take you in by cargo ship. You shouldn't have to stay more than two or three days, and we have some Tok'ra tunnels in the forest you can use to store provisions and sleep. From there, all you have to do is follow Heru-ur around for a while."

"What if he doesn't lead us to whatever we're looking for?" Daniel asked; he was already having doubts. He happened to agree with Jack that the Tok'ra often left out important details.

"That's pretty much guaranteed. One of our operatives will allow himself to be captured, you'll be going in on the same transport that he is. All you have to do is follow his party to the base and wait. We're hoping Heru-ur will try and question him using this new advantage."

"How's he getting out? How are we getting out?" Daniel said with concern.

"Some of Heru-ur's jaffa are waiting at the Tok'ra base with the cargo ship. They'll take you and the operative to Heru-ur's world and escort him in as a prisoner. When your mission is complete, all you have to do is contact them and they'll break our operative out; you can steal a ship. It should be a piece of cake." The Colonel nodded and picked up one of the devices. He fiddled with it for a moment and then looked to Daniel.

"Are you up for this?"

"Yeah, I think so." Jack clapped him on the shoulder and turned to the General.

"General? Do we have permission to take on this…mission?" He asked.

"It's up to you Colonel."

"Then I guess we're going sir."


	3. The Ride In

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"Don't they have sensors in this facility that can see our heat signatures or something?" Daniel said curiously as they boarded the cargo ship.

"Yes, but we have an isotope you can inject yourselves with every eight hours that will keep you from showing up on the map of the facility."

"Cool." Jack noted with a grunt. He tossed his heavier-than-usual pack onto the floor of the ship and then slid down the wall to sit with Daniel.

"Good luck Jack, Daniel." Jacob said as he departed. A few minutes later, they were deep in conversation with Martouf, whom it turned out was the Tok'ra that would be accompanying them on the mission.

"You're not worried at all that Heru-ur's gonna torture you?" Daniel asked with raised eyebrows.

"No. We are fairly certain this new advantage allows him to gain access to information without having to use torture. Even so, I have endured torture before." Martouf replied nonchalantly. Jack cringed at this statement.

"Why do the Goa'uld torture people anyway? Why don't they just use those little memory recall things that you used on Carter on Sokar's planet?" Martouf dropped his head and Lantash spoke.

"Despite how it may seem, a person using the memory recall device must willingly access the memories. That is why the Goa'uld Hathor needed to convince you that you're teammates were dead and that you were in the SGC."

"Forgive me, but we are nearing our destination. I shall have to place you in restraints." One of Heru-ur's jaffa indicated after coming in from the pel'tak.

"Of course." Lantash said before turning to Daniel and Jack. "You should take your first injections now. They will likely scan the ship when we arrive." Martouf took over and stood up.

"Good luck." He said. The jaffa placed him in restraints and walked him by the arm to the Pel'tak.

"Ow…" Daniel said as he injected himself.

"Yeah, you think they'd have come up with a better way to do this, them being a technologically superior race and whatnot." Jack said scathingly; he never liked races that thought of his own as primitive. "You ready for this space monkey?" Jack asked, ruffling Daniel's hair.

"Yep. Ready to roll." He slipped on his belt and turned on his invisibility device. Jack did the same and the two followed Martouf to the Pel'tak.

"Where are you dropping us?" Jack asked, startling the jaffa nearest him.

"We…we will send you down to the Tok'ra tunnels with the rings and continue to Lord Heru-ur's palace with Martouf." He said, staring around and listening for Jack's voice.

"Great. Marty…?" he said, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Yes Colonel?"

"You said the tunnels lead all the way to the facility right?"

"They do. You will come out in a hall adjacent to the prison cells."

"Okay. I guess you'll see us then."

"I will in fact be unable to see-"

"You know what I meant."


	4. Advantage

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"Damn, he's already gone." Jack grumbled when they reached Martouf's cell. "Do you know which way the throne room is?" He asked Daniel.

"Yeah, we can catch them if we hurry. Come on!" They slipped quietly in through the door and moved cautiously to the back of the room to stare up at the throne. It was occupied by the Goa'uld Daniel recognized as Heru-ur. He was staring condescendingly down at Martouf, who had been forced to his knees.

"A Tok'ra spy." Heru-ur said in an amused fashion. "How convenient that you were captured at this time, I should like to know where your base is. Then I can finally wipe out your kind for good."

"You can torture me but I will tell you nothing." He said, a slight edge to his voice. Heru-ur raised his eyebrows and smiled somewhat.

"Torture? No, I no longer need to use torture to extract information from my prisoners. I think you'll find my way much more appealing. River." Both Jack and Daniel got a start when a young girl, (she could be no more than 17), stepped out from the shadows of the throne. Heru-ur gave her a stern look and she bowed her head.

"My lord?" she asked in an acidic, wintry voice.

"Find out where the other Tok'ra are located, and what he was doing here." The girl's eyes traveled to where Martouf was kneeling and gave him a look of pity as she walked gracefully over. River smiled weakly as she kneeled before him and laid her forehead on his.

"Forgive me," she whispered. Martouf looked into her eyes and couldn't help but feel bad for her. Whatever she was about to do, she obviously didn't want to. Quite suddenly, River placed her hand on his shoulder and the other the back of his neck and he was completely still, staring into her eyes. His body jerked somewhat, not as though he was in pain, but in an uncomfortable way.

"He is Martouf of Highgarden and Lantash of the Tok'ra." River said. Heru-ur narrowed his eyes.

"A member of their high council?"

"N-no, he is their representative to someone else…" Daniel and Jack were both breathing heavily. Was River actually reading Martouf's mind? Neither of the humans thought it could be possible. Then again, Daniel thought, he had seen first hand that Nirrti could make Cassandra mildly psychic.

"Who?" Heru-ur asked impatiently.

"Another enemy of the Goa'uld. The…the Tau'ri." Heru-ur looked ecstatic.

"How does he communicate with them? What scheme do they have planned here? Where are the rest of the Tok'ra hiding? These are the things I need to know." He said.

"The Tok'ra had information that one of their operatives was your prisoner, my lord. He came back looking for him." There was no doubt in Daniel's mind, River's face showed it plainly; she was lying to Heru-ur on purpose.

"And the Tau'ri?" Heru-ur couldn't tell she was lying, even better, Daniel thought.

"The Tok'ra have a box made of a certain mineral that they throw through the Chappa'ai and the humans can recognize. The Tau'ri have a device called an iris over-"

"I know that, what is this mineral you speak of?" River grasped Martouf's head more roughly and waited a moment before speaking again.

"He doesn't know, my lord. They throw the box at the Tau'ri iris and the humans can recognize the mineral." Heru-ur sighed and rubbed his chin.

"Where is the Tok'ra base?" River looked as though she was struggling with this question, and Jack wanted more than anything for her to lie just one more time.

"I…" she paused again.

"Yes?" Heru-ur asked impatiently. River abruptly let go of Martouf, who fell to the ground, as if exhausted. She too fell backward, leaning on one arm and holding her head like she had a massive headache.

"The symbiote was able to force me out, my lord. He is too strong at this time." She lied. Heru-ur leaned back in his throne, looking angry.

"Will torture make him any less so?" River immediately shook her head.

"No my lord, I do not believe so." Heru-ur sighed uninterestedly.

"Fine, we shall have to do this the hard way." He looked to his jaffa. "Kill him." Daniel and Jack could do nothing but watch the staff blast kill their friend. Martouf took one last breath, and with his eyes glowing, died, still lying on the floor.

"Place him in the sarcophagus."

"Yes my lord." A jaffa moved forward and lifted Martouf's lifeless body, dragging him away. River stayed where she was on the floor, still looking straight at the place where Martouf's body had been.

"Leave us." Heru-ur dismissed the other guards so that only he, Jack, Daniel, and River were left in the room. He stood up and walked slowly around until he was standing behind her.

"My lord?" she asked, not daring to look back at him. Heru-ur glared down at her for a moment and spoke.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. Daniel narrowed his eyes at Heru-ur. The statement was completely void of emotion, the Goa'uld only wanted to know if River could use her power again. River shook her head, still refusing to look up.

"No my lord." Heru-ur tilted his head somewhat.

"Will you be able to penetrate the Tok'ra's mind completely when he wakes?" River shook her head once more.

"I don't know my lord, he is strong. He used all the strength he had to protect the other Tok'ra; it his most closely guarded secret. I doubt very much that I could ever learn where they are." Heru-ur walked around until he was standing directly in front of the frightened girl.

"You should hope very much that you can, because if you do not, there are consequences."


	5. Dirty Little Secret

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"That was weird." Jack said as he leaned back on his cot. Daniel didn't reply. His head was still swimming with images of River's face; a tortured look that appeared the second Heru-ur touched her.

"I better get on the horn to Jacob and tell him what's going on." Jack said, grabbing for the radio.

"What is it Jack?" Jacob's voice filled the room.

"Well, the invisibility devices work great, we found out what Heru-ur's secret weapon is… oh yeah, and Martouf is dead." A long silence followed this statement.

"That quick huh?" Both Jack and Daniel were shocked by this question.

"What?" Jack said.

"We thought that might happen. The operative that died said something about having to kill the subject once or twice. He's in the sarcophagus now right?" Jack gave Daniel one of his expressions of fury that he reserved specifically for dealing with the Tok'ra.

"I guess you didn't feel it was important to mention this little detail to us humans, we of the inferior race. Tell me Jacob, did you bother telling Marty!" He screeched.

"Of course we did. He knew everything going in, and for the record, he was prepared to take the chance." Jack's face turned a deep shade of scarlet and he dropped the radio, cupping his face in his hands, shaking his head, and mumbling to himself in an exasperated voice. Daniel bent down and picked up the radio.

"Jack?" Jacob said.

"Uh, no, this is Daniel. Jack's a little…what do we do now?"

"You said you found the device that Heru-ur's been using to-"

"Uh, yeah about that…" he interrupted. "It's not a device after all, _she's_ a teenage girl." The silence was deafening.

"What?" Jack reached for the radio, which Daniel offered him gladly. He didn't know how to explain what they had just witnessed.

"She can read people's thoughts. Hey, isn't telepathy _supposed_ to be a myth?" Jacob didn't answer this time, Selmak had taken over.

"That which you refer to as telepathy _is_ a myth. However, it is possible for person to hear the thoughts of another. Thoughts and memories as we know them are simply the firing of neural pathways in the brain. These firings give off energy, an electrical output in its purest form. If the human brain could be altered to recognize the energy patterns being emitted from another brain, then it is possible, theoretically."

"Is it weird that I understood every word he just said?" Jack asked. Daniel only shrugged. "Okay, so we know Heru-ur's dirty little secret. What do we do now?"


	6. Jaffa Jokes

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"Perhaps now." Heru-ur thought aloud. "River." Again, Jack and Daniel watched the girl appear silently from the shadow of Heru-ur's throne and move to where Martouf kneeled on the floor. The Tok'ra was in a relatively good state, considering the fact that he had just died several hours before.

"My lord?" River chanted. She was looking incredibly nervous.

"Find out where the Tok'ra base is and why he is here. And River?" The girl stopped and looked back at him. "Do not fail me again." River dropped to her knees where Martouf stood on his, placing a hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, she and Martouf gasped in pain simultaneously.

"Where is the Tok'ra base?" Heru-ur asked after a few moments.

"Ahh…" River cried out in pain. Martouf's eyes glowed at the same time.

"Speak!" Heru-ur yelled.

"He doesn't know…ah…it was planned, this was all planned." She whispered. Heru-ur had risen from his seat and gestured the jaffa out of the room. He was now standing over the two kneeling on the floor in their pained embrace.

"What was planned?"

"His…capture…the Tok'ra moved and didn't tell him where…he allowed himself to be captured…"

"For what purpose!" Heru-ur asked, raising his voice. An expression of astonishment flashed across River's face and she looked right at the spot where Jack and Daniel stood watching. Or at least, they thought she did, for she had turned away in a second.

"No!" Lantash said. River let him go and they both fell to the floor.

"Kill him!" Heru-ur said in a fury. Martouf's eyes glowed as he died, staring straight at River. In response, a tear fell down her cheek. River rose from the floor, clutching the arm of Heru-ur's throne for balance.

"What else did you learn?" Heru-ur asked.

"Nothing." River replied through gritted teeth, clutching her head.

"Don't lie to me!" The force of Heru-ur's strike sent River sprawling to the floor. Her face was bleeding where he had backhanded her.

"Master please…"

"I keep you so I don't have to spend time and energy torturing captives for information, not so I must beat it out of you. But make no mistake, I will if you compel me. Now speak!" He positioned himself to backhand her again, but she threw up an arm in defense. "Speak." He said in a deadly calm voice. River swallowed loudly.

"There are traitors among you my lord, the jaffa, those that brought the Tok'ra to you. They were part of the plot to fabricate his capture." This seemed to satisfy Heru-ur's curiosity. He walked back to his throne and sat there, deep in contemplation, for several minutes. Daniel was breathing so hard from fighting Jack's hold on him that every heartbeat seemed to shatter the stillness.

"What else did you learn?" Heru-ur asked.

"Naught of importance." The Goa'uld gave her a look, eyes glowing.

"The Tok'ra and the people of the Tau'ri found technology on a planet once ruled by Nirrti." River said, straining. "Technology that allows them to become invisible, my lord."

"You said 'naught of importance'. In what way did this seem unimportant to tell me?" River swallowed again.

"The devices were damaged, they were unable to reproduce the cloaking effect. If they couldn't fix them, then they couldn't be used against you my lord. It seemed unimportant to mention them." Jack could tell Heru-ur didn't buy her excuses, but he nodded anyway.

"Very well." He said. "We will try him again tomorrow. And next time you should be so kind as to mention everything. Whether or not you believe it can be of use is irrelevant." With that, he rose from his throne and left, with River still on the floor.

"Come on." Jack said, walking toward the girl.

"What-?" Daniel asked, still whispering

"It's okay, she already knows we're here. Don't you?" Jack asked. He turned off his invisibility device and held out a hand to help her up.

"Yes, I was aware of a presence beyond Martouf's and my master, but it wasn't until I learned of your plot that I knew you were in the room. For what it is worth, I am sorry about your jaffa friends, I had to give him something."

"Isn't there time to warn them?" Daniel asked. River shook her head.

"He will have already ordered their deaths by now. I am sorry." She repeated.

"You could have given us up anytime you wanted, why didn't you?" Daniel wondered aloud. River raised her eyebrows.

"Think you I want to serve a false god?"

"No, I guess not. I mean to say-"

"Thanks." Jack interrupted. River nodded. She took a seat on an ornate Egyptian stool close to the throne and leaned back, weary.

"What's wrong?" Daniel asked, sitting beside her.

"Using my abilities exacts a great toll on my body. The pain grows worse each time." Daniel and Jack shared a look.

"River, about your abilities, could you tell us about them?" Daniel asked.

"And why you're working for a Goa'uld?" Jack added. River frowned slightly.

"The Goa'uld Nirrti conquered my planet when I was very young. Our Sovereign surrendered within the first day… Nirrti experimented on the surviving population through genetic manipulation. I was one of those subjects upon which her research proved fruitful. I could see the images within another's mind. She called it a 'Gift from on high'.

"Most of the subjects died from the effects of the experiments, but some of us were able to escape. We used our abilities to make our way to the Stargate and we fled to another world much like our own, Varos. Time passed, eventually only a few of us had not died from the damage caused. But we weren't safe on Varos either. Because of our abilities, the townsfolk thought we were evil beings. They killed all of the others…" She trailed off, blinking rapidly.

"I was to be executed a day after Heru-ur arrived on the planet. But one of us had developed pre-cognitive abilities, so we knew he was coming. In truth, he saved my life. The Varonians told Heru-ur about my powers and were able to trade me for their planet's continued freedom."

"That's awful…" Daniel began, but River was shaking her head.

"I do not begrudge them that. It may not have been better than the alternative, but something good did come of-" River's face became full of shock. "Your cloaking devices, quickly! Rashol." River said, standing so suddenly she stumbled. A young jaffa entered brandishing a Zat'n'ktel.

"To whom were you speaking River?" Rashol asked, looking at her as a parent looks at a guilty child. She had no time to reply.

"Please!" River said. "Do not harm him, he is a friend!" She placed herself between Daniel's Zat gun and the Jaffa, arms outstretched. He struggled for a moment, but eventually lowered his weapon.

"Who are these?" Rashol asked as River dropped her guard.

"They are the warriors of the Tau'ri, Rashol. And they are friends."

"Friends?" Rashol breathed, "Have you taken leave of your senses girl! Heru-ur will kill us both for this!" He looked Daniel up and down and shook his head in disbelief.

"He is not aware of their presence."

"She's telling the truth. We can help." Daniel said.

"Daniel?" Jack questioned, looking at him with slight frustration. What was he getting them into this time?

"Well it makes perfect sense Jack. We can stop Heru-ur from getting any more powerful by helping River escape! She is the big advantage Jacob sent us here to find."

"So we help her, she can't help Heru-ur."

"Exactly." Rashol cleared his throat loudly. Daniel and Jack suddenly remembered the other two occupants of the artifact room.

"You would help me? Why?" River asked suspiciously.

"You don't already know?" Jack wondered aloud.

"I require physical contact to…read your minds. Please, tell me, why would you help me?"

"Because by helping you escape we can complete our mission to stop Heru-ur's power…thing." Jack said. River frowned.

"Lord Heru-ur rarely allows me to leave his presence. Attempting to aide in my escape would be difficult if not impossible. You could attain your goal more easily by simply killing me."

"That's not how we do things." Jack said. River looked intently at his eyes, and after a moment, nodded. Rashol sighed, leaning against the wall.

"How do you intend to escape?"

"We were gonna steal a cargo ship." Jack said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"But we can't leave without our friend." Daniel added.

"You speak of the Tok'ra?" Rashol asked. They nodded.

"I have heard much of the Tau'ri warriors, but I do not believe you can help River or your friend escape without my assistance. I can create a diversion outside the Sarcophagus chamber. The Tok'ra is there. When you have him, I will open the cargo-bay doors for you."

"Why should we trust you?" Jack asked.

"Lord Heru-ur ordered me to ensure River's welfare." Rashol smiled mischievously. "I take my assignments very seriously." Jack looked blown-away.

"You made a joke…"


	7. Outta There

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"It took you long enough." Daniel said, taking some of Jack's load. He had returned to the Tok'ra tunnels for extra weapons in case things got 'hairy'. Daniel and River had waited some time for him in a room across from the sarcophagus chamber, part of their plan to rescue Martouf.

"Long story." Jack replied for him. "Where's Rashol?" Daniel only shrugged, looking at his watch.

"He will come." River assured him. "We will know when to act." Suddenly, the hall came alive with staff-weapon fire and the clatter of armored bodies hitting the floor.

"Time to go. You wait here!" Jack said, edging towards the door. Daniel opened it enough for them to roll underneath and the two slid toward the sarcophagus chamber. Further down the hall, Rashol was shouting commands in Goa'uld while his subordinate jaffa cleaned up the mess made by the 'misfiring' staff weapon. The door to the sarcophagus chamber opened and several jaffa exited to see what was going on. Only one remained, and he was easily dispatched by Zat-fire.

"Now what?" Jack asked. Daniel looked to either side of him, wondering who Jack was talking to.

"You're asking me?"

"You've been through these things more times than anybody. How long is it gonna take?"

"Well I have no idea. Perception of time is one of the first things to go when your…" He couldn't find the word.

"Dead?" Jack filled in. "Oh…" The sarcophagus ceased glowing and began to open. Inside, Martouf' eyes glowed as he awoke from death once again. He blinked several times and pulled himself upward, feeling slightly dizzy.

"Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, what has transpired?" Martouf asked.

"We're getting out of here, the girl's waiting across the hall." Jack said, tossing him a Zat.

"I have been dead for several hours now, Colonel. In that light, perhaps you could be more specific."

"Oh, uh, about that… we've decided to take River with us." Daniel explained. "She's hidden, but that's not gonna last much longer." Martouf nodded and they edged toward the door. The jaffa were gone from the end of the hall, but their footfalls could be heard not far off.

"Oh dear…" Daniel whispered inaudibly. River's arms were being held behind her back by Heru-ur's first prime. But worse yet, Heru-ur was standing in the room with them, surrounded by his personal guard.

"Jaffa kree!" A jaffa stepped forward and grabbed Martouf, throwing him to his knees before Heru-ur. River was forced to join him. Luckily, Jack and Daniel were still cloaked. They moved to the edges of the room, avoiding the ends of hanging staff weapons.

"Interrogation seems to have become my most constant activity of late." Heru-ur was saying with a sour undertone. "Of course, you are on the opposite side of the interrogation this time."

"And I shall never be on your side of one again." River retorted quietly. If looks could kill, Heru-ur could kick the bucket any time now, Jack thought.

"Silence!" Heru-ur's first prime said, jamming his staff weapon into the back of her neck. Heru-ur smiled delightedly when she yelped in pain.

"What I cannot understand is why you would help the Tok'ra to escape. No doubt you care for him deeply, otherwise you would not have risked compromising our agreement. Explain yourself slave." He said, his voice changing from a dry amusement to outright, cold anger. When River did not move to answer, the first prime moved to hit her again, but Heru-ur stopped him.

"No, wait. She is not one to bend to torture, _if_ it is performed on her…" River looked petrified at this statement. Moments later, they knew why. Heru-ur rose from his throne and descended on Martouf, his Goa'uld hand device activating on his outstretched arm.

"No!" River cried, rising to her feet; but a jaffa grabbed her and held her back. "Please. Stop this!"

"Tell me what I wish to know!" The gold stream connecting the hand device to Martouf glowed brighter by the second. Daniel looked to Jack for instruction.

"Alright that's enough!" Jack said, activating his staff weapon. He took out the jaffa holding Martouf and aimed for Heru-ur, but the blast just bounced off of his personal shield. Daniel, who had a Zat in each hand, shot the jaffa around the exits while Jack kept shooting at the others. But one of these aimed for the sound of the staff blasts and made a lucky shot into Jack's stomach, not only injuring him, but effectively destroying the invisibility device. Heru-ur recoiled slightly when he came into view on the floor.

"I'll be fine." He managed to get out when Daniel came to his side. He had shut his own device off; it was useless now that they had been exposed. "Lets get out of here, come on!"

River helped Martouf to his feet, and in turn he led her out of the door and through the maze-like hallways behind Daniel. He was holding Jack up as well as he could so he could hobble down the hallways. One turn after another led them straight into jaffa patrols, until one made them nearly collide with Rashol.

"Hurry!" Rashol said as he and Daniel took positions to carry Jack. "Another patrol is-" Staff-weapon fire finished his sentence.

"Down here!" Martouf said, pushing the others towards the entrance to the Tok'ra tunnels. River slid down first and the others followed

"What is this place?" She asked, not recognizing the feel of her surroundings.

"Uh, it's a tunnel system grown by the Tok'ra operative that found out about you. We should be safe here until Jacob finds us."

"Will he be alright?" River asked, referring to Jack. He was in a bad state. The staff blast was causing him severe pain. Martouf was trying to help by cleaning the wound.

"Alright, alright! Its clean now _stop_!" Jack yelled, grunting in pain and gritting his teeth.

"What now?" Daniel asked. Jack sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"We should wait here for now. Try to get Jacob on the phone. At least this way we don't run the risk of getting caught by a jaffa patrol." He said firmly. Daniel picked up the Tok'ra radio and tried to contact Jacob, calling out both his name and Selmak's, but there was no answer.

"Well, so much for that." Daniel sighed.

"Selmak will not have left unless there was no other alternative. He expected us to escape using a stolen cargo ship." Martouf pointed out.

"Yeah, well that's not an option now is it?" Jack replied scathingly.

"Well we have to do something, there's not enough isotope left to keep us all off the scanners for long…" Daniel paused for a moment. A jaffa's pounding boots could be heard very close. This pounding was followed by another sound, fainter but sharper; Daniel recognized the muffled human voice.

"…if you can hear me, please respond." Jacob said through the 'radio'. Daniel grabbed the Tok'ra communicator from the end of Jack's cot, knocking several MRE's to the ground.

"Jacob, it's Daniel! We're hiding out in the tunnels, but we're running out of the isotope that keeps us off the Goa'uld scanners."

"I'm in a cloaked cargo ship on the other side of the planet. Are you all okay?"

"Yeah…Jack's got a nasty hole in his side from a staff weapon, he's not doing so good…uh, anyway, we're just peachy here hiding for our lives, so what do you wanna to do?"

"First we have to get you out of those tunnels."

"What about the ring platform?"

"No, he can't get that close to the palace without the ship's energy signature setting off all the alarms." Martouf explained.

"You're gonna need to get out of there, far out of there."

"How far?" Jack said, dismayed.

"At least ten clicks, any less than that and the scanners will detect me the second I try to ring you up."

"Great…"

"And there's another problem, the tunnels only have the one exit. You'll have to get out from inside the palace. But even if you manage that, once you get outside there'll be jaffa patrols like white on a snowstorm between us." Daniel decided not to grace this with a reply.

"Daniel?"

"Yeah, ok, I guess we'll see you soon."

"Good luck. Out."


	8. The Kree Serenade

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

Every time the trees rustled, the travelers jumped and raised what weapons they had. Two zats and a sixth sense that could tell when someone was approaching, but otherwise they were sitting, or rather walking, ducks. Jack was having a hard time; the staff blast in his side made it hard to move, so both Martouf and Daniel had to help him along. Three different moons were not enough through the thick fans of leaves hanging above them. But nevertheless, they had made much progress. The fugitives had walked nearly eight clicks when they ran into the jaffa patrol.

"Down!" Martouf whispered when he saw them. They ducked behind a fallen tree and the men held their Zats at the ready. Various shouts in Goa'uld serenaded them, most of them ending in 'Kree', but they died out after a moment and the pounding of their feet slowly disappeared.

"Alright, let's go." Daniel coaxed, his voice lowered.

"Kree! Jaffa-" Jack silenced him with his zat gun. As they had hopped over the log, a jaffa left behind by the patrol called his comrades back. That particular jaffa was downed easily by Martouf's shot, but five staff weapons were already firing in retaliation.

"Run!" They dodged through the trees, avoiding many staff-blasts that instead ended up burrowing holes in the oak.

"Jacob, we need a ride right now!" Jack said as they ran, ducking from another blast.

"Are you ten clicks yet?"

"I don't know, but it's not gonna matter if we die before we get there!" He shot another zat blast over the back of his head.

"Okay, I'm coming, hang tight." Jacob replied shortly.

"Easier said than done!" Jack yelled into the microphone, pulling River out of the way of an enemy Zat-blast.

"There's a clearing a few hundred feet north of you. You have to get there, I can't get the cargo ship through the trees!"

"Can we make it?" River asked, her voice shaking.

"Absolutely!" Jack assured her, though he barely believed it himself. "Lets run for it right… Now!"

Their lungs seemed to burst with every yard they gained, but the clearing was in sight, and Jacob's ship was lowering into it. Daniel pulled River along using all his strength when suddenly she wilted to the ground. He stopped for mere seconds, thinking she had just lost her footing, but he could smell the burning flesh of the staff blast that had hit her in the back. Daniel pulled the girl into his arms and carried her, trying not to touch the wound. In the clearing, he fell to his knees, collapsing under her weight and from pure, unadulterated, exhaustion.


	9. Broken

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"In the meantime, let's discuss what we're going to do next. Jacob. Martouf." General Hammond was saying when the Tok'ra arrived. It had been nearly two days since Daniel, Jack and River had returned to the SGC. Though she had been hit by staff-fire, the young girl seemed to be in decent health. Daniel had left her in the infirmary; Dr. Frasier insisted that she be checked over once more. Jack had been shot as well, but he was worse off. The blast had gone deep into his torso, requiring surgery to repair the damage. But, as always, he turned out to be fine.

Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam now sat in the briefing room ready to hear a report from the Tok'ra. Jacob Carter walked into the room with Martouf, taking a seat next to his daughter.

"George, nice to see you again." He said. Jacob dropped his head and Selmak spoke. "We have some disturbing news."

"Disturbing you say?" Jack asked. "Sorry I'm late General. Old Doc Frasier insisted she change my bandages."

"How's the battle wound Jack?" Jacob was referring to the staff-blast that had destroyed both the invisibility device and the corner of Jack's spleen.

"It only hurts when I breathe. So…disturbing news?"

"We have the results of the tests we ran on River." Selmak nodded and one of the other Tok'ra pulled out a small projection device. It flashed on the table and an image of a human body appeared.

"What are we looking at?" The General asked.

"This is an image of River's body. We took these scans while she was at the Tok'ra base in order to better understand her ability. Since Nirrti has altered her physically to create the ability, we knew we would be able to see the alterations and perhaps even use the knowledge of the Hak'tar to our own advantage. What we found however…" He let the image explain.

"What is that?" Sam exclaimed quietly. River's cranium had been enlarged in the viewer to show what Nirrti had done to her. The tumor was color-coded white against the green of her brain and her blue eyes. White lines twisted their way through the back of her eyes and gathered in a mass connecting different parts of her brain.

"These tendrils," Lantash indicated the white lines. "are likely the cause of her elevated sensory perceptions."

"The tumor also connects the amygdala, frontal lobe, and optic nerve." Selmak added.

"The frontal lobe is the most advanced piece of the brain," Dr. Frasier explained aloud. "Many reports of telepathy on earth center on studying that lobe."

"What about the amygdala and optic nerve?" Janet and Sam were in their own world of understanding now, leaving the others to stare blankly at the hologram.

"The amygdala is an emotional processor, it probably helps to keep River's thoughts and feelings separate from those of the second mind. But the optic nerve, I'm not sure."

"We believe that is the conduit through which the energy that makes up our thoughts is forced." Selmak explained. Martouf leaned back in his chair, looking miserable and irate.

"When River was inside my mind in Heru-ur's palace, she communicated to me how much of a struggle it was to use her abilities. Now we know why…the tumor grows each time she accesses another's thoughts, causing her great pain."

"And it now seems that any further use of her telepathy could cause the tumor to grow out of control and kill her."

"Well, this is good news." Daniel said suddenly. Jack looked at him like he'd just shot someone.

"What?"

"Well, it's a brain tumor right? We take tumors out of patients all the time. Don't you see? This means we can help her."

"That is why we have come." Selmak said. "The Tok'ra council originally decided to destroy Heru-ur's advantage over the system lords, and we stand by that conclusion. Removing the tumor will accomplish this goal."

"I'm lost. How?" Jack asked. Jacob responded this time.

"The tumor is what lets her read minds, Jack. No more tumor, nor more telepathy." Jack was about to reply, but the intercom cut him off.

"Warning: Unscheduled off-world activation. Warning:"


	10. Powers

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"Daniel?" River asked. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. General, what-" General Hammond did not need to answer. They stood staring out of the control room windows as technicians pounded the keyboards. The Iris was still closed, but before it, standing on the ramp, was a holographic projection of Heru-ur.

"It's him." River whispered. Her voice had grown flat and cold.

"You have taken something that belongs to me." Heru-ur's voice boomed throughout the gate room. Colonel O'Neill and Jacob were standing before him on the bottom of the ramp, light from the event horizon shining on their faces.

"No, no, I think you're mistaken. There's nothing here that belongs to you." Jacob said, feigning indifference. Heru-ur only laughed.

"I will not speak to the Tok'ra. You are Colonel O'Neill of Sg-1."

"Nope, Captain James T. Kirk of the starship enterprise."

"You are not amusing." The Goa'uld said callously. "I know you have taken River to the first world. I have come to take her back."

"Let me think about that…" Jack said. When he was sure several minutes had passed, he shook his head. "Nope, no thanks, no deal." Heru-ur's eyes glowed at these words.

"You will give her back to me, because if you do not, I will destroy your planet." Jack's eye twitched when he said this. It was all he could do not to drop a sarcastic retort.

"What do you want?" Selmak asked.

"I must see her. I require confirmation that she is…undamaged." Selmak held his head high for a moment and nodded motioning for him to wait.

"Uh, Jacob? Have you completely lost your mind?" Jack asked as he followed him to the control room.

"I'm trying to buy us some time Jack. If we make him think we'll make a deal, he'll have to give us time to consider it. That could buy us at least a day." Jacob and Jack now stood before Daniel and River, who was standing beside him. Jack noticed how very small and fragile she looked now, staring towards the Goa'ulds voice.

"River?" Jacob asked tenderly. "We have-"

"I understand General Carter. I am ready." Jacob nodded and walked back toward the gate room. Daniel came too, refusing to let River face him alone. As they stepped down into corridor C3, she leaned towards him and whispered.

"Daniel. I can't do this."

"It's gonna be okay. He's just a hologram, he can't hurt you anymore."

"I know, but I can hear his voice and I can feel him stare down at me."

"I promise, everything's gonna be okay, I won't let him hurt you." With this, Daniel took her hand and squeezed it encouragingly.

"I see you are intact." Heru-ur said coldly as they entered. River raised her eyes to her master and glared horribly up at him. When she did, Daniel felt a surge of energy crawl up his arm; it turned to a deep hatred when it entered his mind.

"You are turning out to be very expensive for a toy that doesn't work half of the time."

"Am I? Forgive me master, for being such a burden. But I must dare to correct you, my lord; I have never been unable to gain information from a prisoner." Heru-ur's eyes flashed angrily.

"You told the Varonians your powers were weak."

"I lied." River said, they were her words, but Daniel was the one speaking them now. Daniel could not move his hand from hers; he was helpless to stop her. _Forgive me, Daniel. I must. _Heru-ur looked beyond speech.

"Are you surprised my lord?" River asked.

"You didn't know I could that?" Daniel added.

"If you were a God, how could I deceive you so?" Jack finished. River had reached out and grabbed his hand with her own. Jacob stepped away some, Jack and Daniel were beginning to shake.

"Colonel O'Neill? Dr. Jackson?" General Hammond asked over the intercom.

"We need two days to discuss the terms." Selmak said.

"You have one day." Heru-ur replied. Then he looked to River. She let go of Daniel and Jack and stepped forward until she was less than a foot from him.

"I too have a condition, my lord… You can have all of my powers only if you give your word that you will never attack this world."

"Since when does a slave barter with her God?"

"I'm not bartering master, but you know from experience I can not be moved even by torture. You must agree if you wish me to return." Heru-ur bent down to look directly in her eyes.

"I preferred you under torture…I accept your terms. One day." With this, the gate shut down and he was gone.

"Whoa…" Jack said, shaking his head violently. "That was weird." Daniel rubbed his temple and walked up to River. She was looking at the floor. Daniel held her at a distance.

"River? You never told me he-"

"His torture was nothing compared to Nirrti's. In fact I prefer it. Martouf-" River was swaying uneasily, she reached up and massaged her forehead.

"Dr. Frasier!" River had once again collapsed into Daniel's arms.


	11. Escape

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"How long will she sleep?" Daniel asked. He and Jack now stood over River's unconscious form in the infirmary with Teal'c, Martouf, Jacob, and Dr. Frasier by their side.

"Maybe three or four hours." The Doctor said, "We gave her a sedative after she collapsed, we couldn't risk her using her powers on anyone again."

"What now?" Jack asked.

"Little time remains before we reach Heru-ur's deadline." Teal'c observed.

"In the meantime we must devise a plan that does not involve returning River to Heru-ur." Martouf added.

"Agreed." Selmak said. "We must also discuss how to go about removing the tumor, perhaps-" He stopped short. River was waking up.

"Three or four hours Doctor?" Jack said with a tone.

"I don't understand it Colonel, she shouldn't be…" Dr. Frasier was frozen solid. River had grabbed hold of her arm and was rising out of the hospital bed. Dr. Frasier fell slowly to the ground as River stepped out of bed, moving towards Teal'c. He raised an arm to stop her but it was folly; her touch sent him into unconsciousness and to the ground.

"River…Ahh…" Jacob and Martouf went down.  
"River don't!" Jack pulled his side arm and pointed it at River. "Please don't make me…" It was too late.


	12. Good or Evil

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)_

"Dr. Jackson what happened?" General Hammond was standing over them in the infirmary. Martouf pulled him to his feet while Selmak lifted Jack.

"It was the girl, sir. She knocked us out just by touching us." Jack explained.

"Where the hell is she now?" The intercom answered this for him.

"Unauthorized Gate Activation!" Walter's voice said.

"Go!" The General yelled. Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and the two Tok'ra ran for the control room. The sight that greeted them was disturbing.

River was standing alone on the ramp, and the gate was dialing behind her. The technicians in the control room seemed to be frozen. When General Hammond ordered them to close the iris, they would not, or rather could not, respond. The guards in the gate room were out cold on the floor, their weapons useless in stopping the girl. River was looking back to the control room; she seemed to be staring straight at Daniel.

"Major Carter, get that iris closed now!" General Hammond ordered.

"I think she made the technicians lock out our codes sir!" She said. "There!" After pounding the keyboard for several seconds, the iris closed, right before River was about to step through.

"Open it!" She yelled, spinning around to face them.

"Get security down here!" General Hammond said.

"General, let me go down and talk to her alone." Daniel offered.

"I can't take the chance that she'll-"

"If you send a security team in you're risking more lives than if you only send me."

"Daniel?" Jack asked.

"Jack, I think I know what's going on. Please just…trust me." Jack thought on this for a moment.

"General, I think it's worth a try." The General nodded and Daniel jogged down to the gate room. He stood for a moment outside to catch his breath before sliding his ID and opening the solid steel door.

"River? Wait!" He said when she pointed a gun at him. "I'm unarmed, I just wanna talk…" She slowly lowered the gun and Daniel went to the bottom of the ramp.

"That's close enough." River said, raising the weapon again.

"Okay, alright. I just want to talk to you." He repeated, putting his hands out protectively. She lowered the weapon as he lowered his arms and for a moment neither dared disturb the stillness and the silence. Back in the control room, Sam was trying and failing to regain control of the computers. The technicians had come back to life, but they could not remember what River had made them do to the software. None of them could shut down the gate.

"You must let me go, Daniel. I cannot let my master destroy your planet and wont serve him any longer."

"You knew this was going to happen. You knew the whole time." River looked at him intensely for a moment and sighed.

"Yes Daniel, I knew."

"You said on Varos one of you knew Heru-ur was coming. That one of you had developed precognitive abilities. It was you wasn't it?" River nodded.

"Yes. But I could not see the Varonians killing my companions for witchcraft, and I could not see Nirrti's experiments killing my entire family. But I saw all of this."

"What happens next?" Jack asked. He showed her his hands, assuring he had no weapons.

"You will let me go. You have no choice."

"And Heru-ur?" He asked. "What happens to him?"

"I only know that he will try to take me as a host. The attempt will destroy him."

"And you?" Daniel asked. River smiled sadly.

"I have known for a long time that the use of my powers is slowly killing me. It will take everything I have left to stop Heru-ur, in destroying him I may way kill us both, but I will destroy him."

"There's no other way? You're just gonna leave and take your chances?" Daniel said, his voice was hollow with despair. River frowned.

"I have used and betrayed you and your people Daniel and for that I am truly sorry. Nirrti taught me to use people for my own devices and the Varonians taught me betrayal. But know this, this way is the best way for the most people. If one person's sacrifice can save so many lives, it is well worth the cost."

"I wish Nirrti never found your planet. I wish so much that none of this had happened." River smiled, not so sadly this time.

"So do all that suffer at the hands of their enemies. But we cannot change what has happened Daniel, only what will happen. My mother told me 'the universe is vast, and we are so small. There is really only one thing we can ever truly control.' "

"What's that?"

"Whether we are good or evil…" Daniel dropped his head and stared at his feet. River walked down the ramp and stared at the manual iris control. It opened behind her, but she did not leave immediately.

She moved to where Jack stood and took his had to shake it. But rather than shake hers back, the Colonel pulled her into and embrace. When he let go she moved sideways to Daniel, pausing for a moment. He did not look up.

"Do not despair, not all life is pain." She said, placing a hand on his temple. Daniel stood frozen for a moment, and when she let go, he looked up with his eyes full of tears. River walked slowly back up the ramp, stopping half way and turning.

"Thank you for all you have done for me, people of the Tau'ri. I am forever in your debt. One day, the dark age of the Goa'uld will end. And if anyone can defeat them, I believe it will be you." With that, she walked the rest of the way towards the event horizon. She stretched her hand out and touched it, causing a ripple to form and flow to the edge. But as she was about to step through, Daniel ran after her, and as if she knew he was coming, she whirled around, catching him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you for believing in me." River stepped through and the gate shut down. Daniel sighed and turned, walking back to his friend.

"What did she do?" Jack said, referring to when River had touched his face. The young man rubbed the spot gently.

"She showed me Sha're. The night before you came back to Abydos. She made me feel the way I felt that night, with her."

"She showed me Charlie. We played baseball. He loved baseball." Jack paused for a moment. General Hammond, Teal'c, Sam, and the Tok'ra were entering the gate room, and the SF's were waking up.

"Hey, you okay?" Daniel shook his head.

"No. Not yet, but I will be. I will be."


End file.
